


Neko Niall

by violet_baudelaire



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Nekos, Arguing, Cat/Human Hybrids, Cute Niall, Fluff, Hybrid Niall, Light Angst, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Neko!Niall, Niall-centric, Owner(s)/Pet, POV Alternating, POV Male Character, Pet, neko, submissive niall
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-01
Updated: 2014-11-01
Packaged: 2018-02-23 13:42:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,023
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2549615
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/violet_baudelaire/pseuds/violet_baudelaire
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Niall silently stood in the middle of his room on his display podium, hiding his hands behind his back and keeping his eyes respectfully lowered towards the floor. His ears twitched slightly as he was given permission to look at his latest visitors. The front wall of his room was made entirely of glass. It allowed visitors to the Pet Palace to observe him...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Neko Niall

**A/N: I just thought the idea of Niall as a neko was very cute. And somehow it turned into this oneshot where Niall is a pet to the other guys 0_0**

**DISCLAIMER: This is purely a work of fiction. All recognizable characters are merely fictional interpretations of their own true amazing selves. I own nothing and no one,apart from the plot of the story.**

**WARNINGS: A little swearing. AU where nekos exist and are pets who are not always treated kindly.**

“Here, kitty, kitty....”

“Furry mutant freak...”

“Don’t call him a freak...”

Niall silently stood in the middle of his room on his display podium, hiding his hands behind his back and keeping his eyes respectfully lowered towards the floor. His ears twitched slightly as he was given permission to look at his latest visitors. The front wall of his room was made entirely of glass. It allowed visitors to the Pet Palace to observe him, and there was also a speaker system and mics in his room that allowed him to hear what was going on outside his room and also to talk to people outside of his room. There were a group of four youthful, attractive guys watching him, and Niall did not think they could be much older than him. Niall was eighteen, and they were likely to be in their early twenties. They were standing close to each other, but separated into two couples. Both couples were holding hands. The first couple had a guy with light brown curly hair and green eyes, and he was the one who had cruelly called Niall a freak. The brown haired guy with blue eyes holding his hand seemed more like he was teasing Niall rather than trying to be mean by calling him kitty. In the next couple both of the guys had brown eyes, but one had black hair and the other one had brown hair. The brown haired guy had been the guy that had told the curly haired one not to call Niall a freak. The guy with black hair had not said a word so far.

“What’s your name?” The kind one that had defended him asked.

“Niall, sir,” Niall replied timidly.

“I’m Liam, and this is my boyfriend Zayn,” Liam gestured to Zayn. “And next to us are our best friends.”

Louis pointed to himself and then to Harry. “I’m Louis, and that’s my boyfriend Harry. Sorry for what he said, he didn’t mean it really.”

Harry scowled at his boyfriend and his best friends. “Yeah, I did mean it actually. I don’t even want to be here.”

Harry, you promised me that we could get a pet and you wouldn’t act like this,” Louis replied, feeling bad for Niall and he was also embarrassed by the way Harry was behaving. “It’s not Niall’s fault that he’s here, or that he is a neko.”

Harry’s scowl lessened as he saw how uncomfortable he was making his boyfriend feel. “I know. I’m sorry, Lou, but I don’t agree with this at all. I’m just here because it’s what you all wanted. Although I think we should just get a normal pet. Not a weird hybrid thing. I guess out of all the pets we’ve seen today, he’s not so bad...” Harry frowned. “And we’ve been here for half an hour. That’s much longer than we took looking at the other pets here. So if you want him, then let’s buy him.”

Louis sighed. “Well, anyway...Niall, don’t worry. Harry will warm up to you eventually.” Beside him, Harry looked like he was about to protest but Louis squeezed his hand and glared at him fiercely and he stayed silent.

“I think he’s perfect for us,” Zayn finally spoke, to give his approval of Niall. It was surprising to the others since he had been very dismissive of the other pets they had seen. “I vote we buy him too.”

“According to his file, he’s only been available for sale for two days, but the manager said he had a lot of offers to buy Niall. If we don’t buy him now, he could get taken by someone else,” Louis replied, growing anxious at the thought of not getting to keep Niall.

“Niall, is that what you want?” Liam asked, trying his best to hide how excited he felt at the prospect of having his very own neko. “Would you like us to own you? For us to take care of you? It’s been something we’ve all...” Liam hesitated when he glanced at Harry, who had a sour expression on his face. “Well, most of us have wanted to own a neko for a long time now. We all live together in a house, and it’s like a family but something has always seemed to be missing. And I think that’s you, Niall.”

Niall was wide eyed when what Liam said sunk in. He stepped down from the podium and moved closer to the glass wall slowly. No one ever asked Niall what he wanted. He was usually just ordered around. He was unsure how he felt about becoming a pet to multiple owners, one of whom had taken an instant dislike to him. Yet the rest of them appeared to be kind. And Niall was interested in all of them, even the one who had insulted him. He had a desire to be owned, as most neko pets did. However, it was an overwhelming prospect to think of having not just one, but four owners. Four owners who all had different personalities, and he could not be sure if they would be nice or mean to him in the long run. Niall had heard many horror stories of owners who were cruel to their neko pets and owners that were kind at first but then became cruel or neglectful to their neko pets as time went by. He wanted to ask if he could have time to think about it, but it was a thought he would never dare to say out loud. Niall had been trained to think that his own needs and wants, as an inferior neko pet, were far less important than humans. So he smiled shyly at Liam, his tail swaying back and forth as he considered which answer would best please Liam. “I’d be happy to be owned by all of you, sir.”

Of course they did not need Niall’s consent to buy him, but they all appeared to be pleased he had agreed. Except for Harry, who did not seem to care. Niall waited patiently outside the office of the Pet Palace’s manager, while his new owners were inside with the manager filling in all the necessary paperwork so that they could claim ownership of him. Niall was not sure how much they would pay for him, but he knew he would have been expensive to buy. The owner of the Pet Palace had a reputation for having the best neko pets in the whole city. And so he was able to charge high prices for them. The last thing his new owners did before they took Niall away from the Pet Palace was to buy an identification tag for him on a wristband. In the past, neko pets had all been made to wear collars in public for identification purposes but new laws had come into place recently that made life a little easier for them. Owners could still choose to use collars, but none of his new owners had been keen on the idea of making him wear a collar. There had been a small argument over what the style and colour of the wristband should be, but Zayn had solved it by declaring that Niall should be the one to choose. Everyone agreed apart from Harry but three votes to one meant he was overruled.

His new owners lived in a large detached house which was not too far from London. There was a Victorian feel to the architecture of the house on the outside, and a spacious garden at the back of the house. There were a few stone paved paths that led all around the garden. There was a long lawn which had a fountain set in the middle and beyond that an area so densely packed with trees, flowers and plants the path that led through it was the only way forward. A folly was hidden right at the very back of the garden. It was very old and needed repairs but everyone had decided not to worry about it since they never used it. Inside they had kept some of the original features of the house such as the fireplaces and they often bought older items that would fit their house décor. The house was modernized with all the latest appliances, but Niall had seen that they liked to decorate it in a way that was a tasteful mixture of old and new. He had been given a tour of the house by Liam and Louis. Harry had disappeared off somewhere and so had Zayn. By the time the tour was over, it was quite late at night and Niall had not been able to stop a yawn escaping since he was getting sleepy. He had promptly apologized but Louis had gently shushed him and Liam had told him there was no need to apologize.  
They had led Niall by the hands to one of the guest rooms, which was to be Niall’s bedroom from now on. He liked that it was cosy and filled with more than just the bare essentials like the room he had been held in at the Pet Palace. It was a real bedroom, not a place where he would be constantly observed by the trainers and stared at by strangers. There was even a closet, although empty at present Louis had told him they would be taking him shopping for his own clothes soon. Right now all he had was two pairs of standard plain grey Pet Palace t-shirts and blue denim jeans as well as five sets of briefs. At the Pet Palace none of the neko pets had been allowed to wear shoes so Niall was used to walking around barefoot. He had not minded when he was back at the Pet Palace, but once his feet had been exposed to the dirty pavements outside it was different and he was aware that if he was not careful he could cut his feet on something sharp. Thankfully his owners had not forbidden him from wearing shoes and they were going to buy him some as soon as they possibly could.

Once Liam and Louis had made sure Niall was comfortably settled into bed, they had both bid him goodnight and left. Before they left, however, Liam had given Niall a warm hug and Louis had kissed him on the cheek. Niall was just starting to fall asleep when his ears pricked up upon hearing someone enter his bedroom. It turned out to be Zayn, and he had brought with him a mug of warm milk which Niall had happily drunk after emitting a soft purring noise at first sight of the milk. Milk was his favourite drink, but he had only been given it as a rare treat at the Pet Palace when he had done well in his training. Most of the time he had only been able to have plain water. Niall had thanked Zayn profusely but felt bad that Zayn had wasted precious time heating up milk just for him. However, Zayn seemed pleased that Niall had enjoyed his drink, and seeing one of his owners happy made that discomfort he felt disappear.

What Niall wanted most was for his new owners to be proud of him and enjoy spending time with him. Perhaps one day they would even love him, but he knew it was too soon for that. Also, he had been taught that only the most obedient and useful neko pets were worthy of a master’s approval, let alone their love. To be loved by their owner was the highest honour a neko pet could have. And Niall was doubtful he would be one of the best neko pets. Sure, he was docile enough and well behaved, but he often had thoughts that meant he wanted to do things differently to how he was trained sometimes. He wanted to have choices in his life, make his own decision every once in a while, but that was a big red flag to his trainers even though he was still very compliant and would be loyal to any owner he had. The trainers had told him those thoughts were wrong, strange and selfish. They had told him he was behaving badly, and had beaten him severely. From then on, he made sure not to tell them about the odd thoughts he had that persisted in coming, no matter how much he kept repeating in his mind the neko pet rules he was meant to follow at all times.

That night Niall did not sleep as peacefully as he usually did. He was glad his owners were nearby, but when he awoke in the morning he realized he wanted to be closer to them at night. He knew he was privileged to have his very own bedroom, some neko pets only had a large padded cushion on the floor that served as a bed or worse with extremely bad owners they were made to sleep outside. He was just climbing out of bed, when Harry barged into the room and stared at him blankly.

Niall stood up from the bed hastily and smiled nervously. “Good morning, Master Harry.”

Harry ignored the greeting entirely. “Louis wants you to come downstairs after you’ve had a shower for breakfast.” That said, he turned and left as quickly as he had come in.

Niall’s cheerful mood dimmed a little, but he reminded himself that it was his own fault if Harry did not like him. He would never blame Harry for not liking him. What he had to do was to be patient and try earnestly to get Harry to like him. He went to the bathroom and had a shower, using some of the apple scented shower gel that was resting on a shelf in the shower. The water was nice and warm, although it took Niall a few tries to get the water just right. He was used to baths, and had never taken a shower before but he was proud that he had picked up what to do easily. After he had dressed, he quickly went downstairs. On the way to the kitchen, his nose twitched as the scent of food being cooked grew stronger. When he went into the kitchen, he greeted everyone wishing them a good morning, and they all greeted him back apart from Harry, who again ignored him. Liam was standing by a pot of black coffee, pouring a cup for himself and Louis. The others were all seated at the breakfast table, on which was laid a big plate of fried bacon and sausages, a plate of scrambled eggs and two toast racks filled with slices of hot buttered toast. There was also a jug of orange juice and one filled with milk on the table. Louis had glasses on and was reading The Times. Harry was eating, but also looking at his phone. Zayn had already finished eating, and he was sipping a cup of tea.

Zayn pulled out the chair next to him when he saw Niall was hovering uncertainly in the kitchen doorway. “Here, Ni, come and sit by me.”

Niall smiled gratefully at Zayn and hurried to sit down. “Thank you, Master Zayn.”

Zayn exchanged a look with Liam that made Niall feel nervous. “Niall, you don’t have to call me that. And don’t thank me just because I asked you to sit down next to me, alright? It’s not necessary...”

“I’m sorry, Master Zayn. I just wanted to be polite,” Niall replied remorsefully.

“You didn’t do anything wrong, babe,” Zayn affectionately tussled Niall’s hair. “Just call us by our first names only from now on, yeah? We may own you, but we don’t think of you like our servant. So all that Master and sir stuff, we don’t like it.”

Niall’s eyes widened in shock. “But I was taught that if I don’t address you according to your higher station in life, then I would be being disrespectful, sir.”

Liam had his coffee cup halfway to his mouth but just held it there, frozen. “Higher station in life?” He repeated Niall’s words with a look of disbelief on his face. “No, that’s not right, Niall.”

Louis lowered his newspaper, disturbed by what he was hearing. “You were taught wrong, Niall. Now, just think of it this way. If you keep calling us Master or sir it will upset us. You don’t want to upset us, do you?”

“No, I don’t want to upset you...” Niall held back the sir he wanted to use although it felt wrong to do so. Yet it was what his owners wanted and Niall was supposed to fulfil their wants in any way he could. “Louis” He whispered. “It doesn’t feel right to me to call you just Louis though.”

“I’m proud of you. And I know it will take time, but you’ll get used to it,” Louis folded his paper away and fetched another plate and some cutlery which he placed in front of Niall and then he smiled at him kindly. “You must be hungry by now. Help yourself to some food.”

Zayn got a fresh glass for Niall to use and poured him some orange juice. “And don’t forget to have a drink.”

“Thank you, Mas- ah, no I...I mean thank you Louis and Zayn,” Niall served himself a small portion of the scrambled eggs with one slice of toast. He closed his eyes in utter bliss as his teeth sank into the buttered toast which tasted like heaven after the bland diet he was used to back at the Pet Palace. “Mmm, toast is so much better when it’s not cold and dry” He ate fast and his plate was soon empty.

Harry smirked as he looked up from his phone. “I don’t mind if he calls me Master Harry.”

Louis rolled up the newspaper and swatted Harry across the back of his head lightly. “Take that back right now.”

“What if I don’t want to take it back?” Harry replied, crossing his arms.

“Then maybe you don’t want to share our bedroom anymore,” It was Louis’s turn to smirk, knowing how much Harry hated sleeping on the couch. “Right, I’ve got to go to work or I’ll be late. I’ll see you guys later...” He ignored a now sulking Harry who had his arms crossed and left the kitchen amid a chorus of goodbyes from everyone else. Harry had a sour look on his face as he apologized to Niall, just for Louis’s sake, but his mood lightened when he caught up to Louis at the front door and received a goodbye kiss.

Meanwhile Zayn was encouraging Niall to eat more. “You didn’t even touch any of the bacon or sausage, and I know you’re smaller than us but you can’t be full up already babe. Go on, have some more...”

Niall bit his lip and shook his head slowly. “Zayn, the trainers said I should only eat a light meal two times in the day, to keep my weight down...”

“Don’t worry about the trainers. If you’re hungry, I want you to eat more,” Zayn urged, resting a hand on top of Niall’s. “We all eat three times a day here, and however much we like. Snacks, too. Yeah, it’s important to have a balanced diet but it’s not good to restrict how much you eat. It’s not healthy for you.”

Niall hesitated, but then he added two more slices of toast and a sausage to his plate and obediently ate them. He was hungry, and Zayn had allowed him to eat more, but he still felt guilty for eating more than he usually would. And yet at the same time he felt good. He could not remember the last time he had come away from a meal feeling completely full up.

Liam took another swig of his coffee to stop himself from getting worked up and saying something that might upset Niall, but he was angry with how Niall had been treated at the Pet Palace. It was horrible how they had brainwashed him with nonsense about humans being superior. And to not feed him properly to make him smaller because a lot of owners liked that, it was beyond twisted. Liam felt ashamed of how ignorant he was on hybrid pets regarding how they were treated at the pet containment facilities.

Harry returned to the kitchen and leaned against the door. “So are we taking the freak shopping or what?”

Zayn stood up from his seat and stormed up to Harry, shoving him backwards. “Don’t call him that!”

“Guys, don’t fight!” Liam exclaimed as he came to stand behind Zayn and wrapped his arms around his boyfriend, holding him back. “Zayn, just calm down. And Harry, I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to come shopping with us, mate.”

“But I wanted to get some clothes too...” Harry frowned, disappointed by this turn of events. Then he smiled. “Fine. I’m sorry, yeah? I won’t call him a freak anymore.”

“In that case, I don’t mind if you come, Harry. What do you think. Zayn?” Liam asked.

Zayn eyed Harry’s all too innocent expression suspiciously, but gave in because he knew Liam didn’t like it when they argued. “Sure, whatever.”  
Harry walked over to Niall, who had been watching them quietly and nervously. “Come on, let’s go get you some clothes,” He grabbed hold of Niall’s hand and pulled him up from his seat. “You go on guys, I’ll bring Niall to the car.”

As they walked out, Harry could hear Liam whispering to Zayn, who was clearly reluctant to let Harry take charge of Niall. Harry could not hear everything, but Liam said something about how all Harry needed was some time to get used to Niall. Zayn was sceptical, but he had agreed. And so, they all piled into the car. Zayn and Liam were in the front, and Liam was driving. Niall and Harry were in the backseat. There was still some tension between Zayn and Harry, but nobody talked about it. The radio was on, and they all started singing along to an old pop song. It was so cheesy that they ended up laughing as they sung along. Niall had not often had the chance to listen to music back at the Pet Palace, but once he had heard the chorus twice he was able to join in with the singing. In no time at all it seemed like they were finally in London and at the shopping centre. It was a new one, and had just opened recently.

Zayn and Liam parted ways with Harry and Niall on the first floor, and everyone agreed to meet up later at the food court. Shopping always made them hungry, and there were plenty of restaurants to choose where they could eat. Harry had been polite to Niall, even pleasant on the journey. That all ended when Zayn and Liam disappeared from their sight. He was still coldly polite, but Harry kept going straight to the stores which had a no pet policy, which meant than Niall had to stand outside the store until Harry had finished browsing the clothes inside. At first Niall had thought it was just a coincidence, but as time went on he realized that Harry was deliberately choosing the non pet friendly stores. The end result was that Harry bought a good haul of clothes and Niall carried around all Harry’s shopping bags. Niall was happy to be helping Harry out, but he really wanted Harry to be able to get along with him. If that could be achieved, Niall thought then it would be possible for Harry to like him. Just before the time they were supposed to meet the others, Harry finally took Niall to a store that would cater to his specific clothing needs. He didn’t get to try on his clothes like Harry had, Harry just found out his size and picked out some random choices, not asking Niall what he thought about the clothes. It did not matter to Niall, since he actually liked all the clothes Harry picked out for him and he was happy he would now be able to wear outfits that had some colour in them. And even though Harry had done it reluctantly and at the very last minute, Niall was pleased that Harry had actually been willing to do something for him.

The restaurant everyone agreed to eat at was packed full, a popular choice amongst the shoppers. Liam managed to find a free table in the very back. They all shared two starters, but had different main courses. Niall was coaxed into trying Zayn and Liam’s main courses and when it came time to have dessert he was not sure he could manage it. But the dessert was delicious and so he ate it all. It turned out that Liam and Zayn had bought some more clothes for Niall, while they had been shopping for themselves. Niall thanked them both profusely as he had done with Harry earlier. Niall was delighted with his day so far, and it just got better when they got home because Louis was home from work. That night everyone watched a scary movie while sharing two large pizzas. Liam and Zayn were snuggled up together on the two seater sofa, while Niall was sandwiched between Louis and Harry on the three seater sofa. Niall was not used to seeing all the blood and gore since he had never watched a slasher movie before. He did enjoy it, but there were parts that made him look away and cling to Louis. He knew Louis did not mind, and Louis held him close and told him when it was safe to look again.

“Do you want to stay in our bedroom tonight Niall?” Liam asked, as soon as the end credits started rolling on the movie.

“If it’s ok with Harry, I’d like that a lot,” Niall replied keenly.

“And if it’s not ok, Niall can share with us instead,” Liam hurriedly suggested. “Really we didn’t talk about this but I thought me and Zayn would have Niall in our bedroom first.”

“Why would you think that?” Harry snapped. “Louis paid just as much as you did to buy Niall in the first place.”

“I’m not even talking about that!” Liam exclaimed angrily. “Although, if you want to go there, your share of the money we all put together to buy Niall was the least.”

“Whoa, Liam...” Zayn interjected, knowing his boyfriend had gone too far with that remark.

Harry glared at Liam. “So fucking what? Not all of us have trust funds or high paying jobs.”

Louis spoke up then, wanting to defend his boyfriend and also show Liam he was not going to back down. “Harry put in as much money is as he could, Liam. It’s silly to argue about something like this. Niall is with us tonight, because I asked him first and that’s all there is to it. Tomorrow night, you and Zayn can be with him. If it really means that much to you, then I’ll let Niall stay in your bedroom tonight.”

Niall felt bad that that he had caused another argument between his owners. “Maybe I should just stay in my own room?”

“No, you’re staying with us,” Harry insisted firmly. He walked over to Liam and held out his hand. He and Liam rarely argued, and Harry did not want them to fall out. “I’m sorry, Liam. I shouldn’t have snapped at you mate...”

Liam sighed heavily as he took Harry’s hand and shook it. “No, it was my fault too. I didn’t mean what I said about the money, you know I don’t care about that sort of stuff really. I was just disappointed, but that’s not an excuse,” He pulled Harry closer and hugged him, relieved they had made up. Harry was like an honorary brother to him. “Niall should stay with you guys tonight.”

When Louis woke up next morning he was surprised to see Niall snuggled up in Harry’s arms. He could not resist getting out his phone and taking a few photos of them sleeping. He was pleased that Harry was starting to come around to the idea of having Niall be a part of their lives. There was still a long way to go, but Louis could see that in time Harry would become as fond of Niall as he and the others were. Louis did not wake them up; he left the room and headed straight for Liam and Zayn’s bedroom to show them the photos. Meanwhile Niall awoke to find himself wrapped in Harry’s arms and when he tried to move Harry would not let him go. Niall smiled thinking back to last night when he had been unable to sleep because of a nightmare. Louis had been fast asleep, but Harry had helped Niall to fall asleep. Harry had insisted he was only holding Niall so he himself could get some rest, but Niall could see that something had changed. Now he had more hope that in the future Harry would like him as much as his other owners did. Niall was starting to settle into his new life. It was definitely challenging, but he loved being with his owners. He had never felt like he had a real home before, but now he realized he did and it was a wonderful feeling.

**Thanks for reading :)**


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